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Today it means

coerce

to force someone to do something

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Where does the word "coerce" come from? It comes from Latin coercere, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

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Where does the word "coerce" come from? It comes from Latin coercere, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

Coerce’s story begins in Latin: coercere meant “to restrain.” 'com-' plus 'arcere', to shut up. It reached English by 1400s as coerce. Came into English through Old French 'cohercier'. Today, coerce means to force someone to do something.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient coercere "to restrain", 'com-' plus 'arcere', to shut up.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1400s coerce "to restrain", came into English through Old French 'cohercier'.

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